Bracing for carlines.



R. G. ELLIS.

BRACINGFFOR CARLINES.

APPLICATION FILED APR.15, 1912.

l mfl fifis-a Patented May 25, 1915.

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ROBERT G. ELLIS, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN CAR AND FOUNDRY COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

BRACING FOR CARLINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 25, 1915.

Application filed April 15, 1912. Serial No. 691,035.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, ROBERT G. ELLIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Bracing for Carlines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of a. portion of. a braced carline of my improved construction with one end thereof connected to the side plates of a car body. Fig. 2 is a plan view cf a modified form of the carline. a plan View of a further modified form of the carline. Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken through the roof portion of a car and showing in elevation the modified form of carline seen in Fig. 3.

This invention relates generally to car roof structure and more particularly to the transversely disposed supporting members or c':r ines.-

The principal object of my invention is to arrange outwardly diverging brat on the end portions of a car-line in order to form wide supports for said ends. thereby producing a structure that is effective in resisting all torsional and longitudinal strains and stresses imparted to the carline in service, and which arrangement also forms a very strong and rigid structure that will readily carry the weight of the roof and roof framing and resist the vertical stresses imparted thereto.

With the above object in view, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings, 10 designates the upper chord or compression member of my improved carline which, as shown, comprises a commercially rolled channel slightly arched at its center portion with its flanges upstanding and with the ends of its web bent downward. These downwardly bent ends are rigidly fixed in any suitable manner to the side plates of the car body. The lower chord or tension member of the carline' is preferably in the form of a rolled angle bar 12, the main body portion of which occupies Fig. 3 is a horizontal plane immediately below the arched central portion of the compression member 11 and the ends of said bar 12 are fixed to the end portions of the member 10 in any suitable manner. The ends of the lower chord or tension member 12 are extended beyond the points where said lower chord is attached to the upper chord or compression member to form diagonal braces such as 15 on one side of the carline, and the inner ends of diagonally disposed braces l5 on the opposite side are riveted to the vertically disposed leg or flange of the lower chord or tension member 12.

In the modified construction illustrated in Fig. 2 the inner ends of the diagonally disposed braces 15 are arranged beneath the web of the upper chord or compression member 10 and are fixed thereto by ineans of rivets 16. The diagonally disposed braces extend downwardly as well as outwardly from the member 10, as illustrated in Fig. 4:,

so that the outer ends of said braces occupy a plane substantially below the plane occupied by the ends of the member 10. This construction is particularly effective against downward strains and stresses upon the carlines and the roof structure supported thereby.

Braced carlines of my improved construction can be cheaply produced owing to the fact that only ordinary shapes of structural metal are utilized in their manufacture, and there is comparatively little labor in the assembling of the parts thereof.

Carlines provided at their ends with diverging braces are very effective against both.

vertical and torsional strains and stresses. The braces at the ends of the carline form a wide support for said ends, which arrangement is particularly desirable for the reason that the carlines, when properly attached to the side plates, tend to maintain their original positions and resist any tendency to work loose as a result of service strains and vibration.

For all practical purposes I prefer to use bracing members that are flanged, as such construction offers a two-fold advantage in that a stiffening flange is provided and also an attaching flange.

It will be readily understood that my invention is not limited to the exact details of the construction herein shown and described,

asit is ob'vlousvthatyarious slight modifications can be resorted to without departing from the spirit of myinvention, the scope of which is set forth'in-the appended claims.

1. The combination with a carline having its ends fixed to the side plates of a car body, of diagonally disposedbraces arranged between the end portionsof the body of the carline and the side plates of the car body, the outer ends of which braces occupy a plane below the plane occupied by the ends of the carline.

2. The herein described cal-line comprising a truss member, the ends of which are adapted to be fixed to the side plates of a car body and braces fixed to said member and projecting outwardly and dowhwardly a ing a truss member, the ends of which are adapted to be fixed to the side plates of a car body, and diverging braces fixed to the end portions of said member, the outer ends of which braces occupy a plane below that occupied by the end of the truss member.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this eleventh day of April, 1912.

ROBERT G. ELLIS.

. Witnesses;

WM. J. RDA, PAUL M. BEARD. 

